We have never seen a more long – term, turbulent time in the housing and office market than in the last 3 years. This has caused a tremendous amount of financial hardship for moving companies across the country, with many in the relocation industry consolidating, selling their companies, closing, or filing for bankruptcy. None of this is good for the consumer, as less competition is not beneficial. In addition, it has caused much more unscrupulous activity and methods with movers everywhere, including our local coverage area. We have never seen so many calls from frustrated customers asking us to bail them out, as the mover they had hired either (1) cancelled their move, (2) didn’t show up, (3) called and said they would be showing up very late or the next day, (4) the price is going way over the estimate and they are holding the customer’s goods hostage, (5) damages, (6) the move is understaffed or the crew is shoddy, (7) some of the crew disappears or is not working, and the list goes on.

Tips When Choosing a Moving Company

Here are some tried and true tips that we have learned from almost 100 years of moving, and they still apply today. These apply whether you are moving locally, long distance, or moving your office or medical practice:

  1. Get more than 1 estimate. If one of those estimates is much lower, proceed with extreme caution. There is a reason the quote is much lower, and 9 times out of 10, it is not good.
  2. Get a physical estimate, meaning have a professional salesperson come out to view your belongings. Almost every other type of service you get done with your house, someone comes out to your house (electrician, plumber, roofer, HVAC, etc.), to see what is involved to work up a price. So why would you want all your personal belongings moved when the estimate was calculated and provided over the phone? A salesperson coming to your house is far more accurate, as they see everything, including the length of the driveway, number of stairs, stairwell width, entrance and exit access, items that should / need to be packed, special care items, extra heavy items, etc. If they don’t or won’t provide a physical estimate, walk away. The mover should at least offer to perform a virtual/video estimate.  If they won’t at least provide a virtual/video estimate, run away!
  3. Check their reputation. THE best way to do this is word of mouth. Do you know any relatives, friends, or people at work who have used the mover and can vouch for their services? A few years ago, reviews used to be a wonderful way of checking the reputation of a company. However, due to changes with the internet and just shady practices, reviews are no longer completely reliable. No large company has all 5-star reviews. If they do, likely the reviews are fake or even paid for by the company (yes, you can pay an outside company to get 5-star reviews on Google).  Reviews that repeatedly contain words or phrases such as “professional, courteous, showed up on time” are usually signs of a fabricated review. Several local companies are part of national chains. Hence, many of these reviews are national, not local, and bad reviews get buried or deleted. Look for trends for companies that have a good bit of bad reviews. In today's day, feel, reputation, and the quality of their website are the best indicators of the quality of the mover. Taking some time and scrolling through their website really helps.
  4. Office moves, quite simple: The larger the company, the better. They have an adequate number of trained office movers to handle any move, have the capacity to adjust to changes or building issues, have the proper office moving equipment, and have the proper trucks. Ask them for their office moving equipment list, and make sure they show up with that equipment. If they don’t stop the move immediately! Residential movers are NOT office movers.
  5. Some moving day warning signs.
    1. The crew is late, and you were not alerted about the delay.
    2. Crew or crew members not in uniform.
    3. No home or office protection.
    4. The crew is taking excessive breaks or disappearing.
    5. Crew total, or type of truck not what was promised. The truck does not have the company name on it.
    6. If any of the above should occur, call the office immediately. If you do not get a satisfactory answer or feel uncomfortable, stop the move immediately. It will give you a lot of heartache.
  6. Make sure they have a PUC license for moves within the state, and a DOT number for moves out of state.
  7. Do not ever use an internet broker. They are not needed, cause extra costs, and you don’t usually know who the actual mover is.

These are just a few things to consider when hiring a moving company. Feel free to call us to discuss any questions you might have.